The Ghost and Agent Gibbs
by Kittysongbird
Summary: Loosely based on the episode "Twilight", Ari deals a devastating blow to NCIS. But is the death of an agent the only thing wrong?


Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters of NCIS. Tis' fanfiction, people. Some lines from the episode "Twilight" were used.

A/N: Timeline for this story is a bit mixed up, on purpose. Even as I am about to post the next chapter for Two Sides of a Coin, this story would not leave me alone. Enjoy the Madness!

Update- Special Thanks to VG LittleBear, Psyche53 and earthdragon, keep me honest. Spelling correction on Ari's name!

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><p>Chapter 1<p>

For the past five hours, he had been standing at parade rest.

He had no intention of leaving, either. His world, hell, his whole life was here. There was nowhere else to go. Leroy Jethro Gibbs had been released from active duty after receiving the news. The News, with capital letters.

_Sorry, Gunny, but your life outside of the Marines has ceased to exist._

His girls were gone.

Shannon had promised when he left for his tour of duty that she would be waiting for him. There would be a large party with all of their friends. Kelly would wear the pretty pink Easter dress that was in his most recent picture of her. It would be the last picture ever taken of his precious little Sunshine. Shannon would wear the blue dress. Her eyes always seemed to sparkle so bright when wearing it.

Now, both of those dresses were six feet under, wrapped around Gibbs heart like a vice.

A sob started in his gut. He tried desperately to hold it in, knowing another funeral was taking place nearby, but it escaped his mouth as a small whimper. The sound of a wounded animal caught in a trap that it could never escape.

Falling to his knees between the freshly disturbed earth of his girls' graves, Jethro had no intention of moving from this spot ever again as 21 gunshots rang out in the air from the funeral in the distance. Gibbs prayed that the Marines were shooting in his direction.

_I'll gladly stop one of the bullets._

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><p>The two Welsh Corgi puppies that his mother had given him for Christmas were excellent watchdogs. Unfortunately, every sound that was different from the norm was met with howls. Unless they could see what had made the noise, the barking would not end.<p>

Ducky was wide awake after hearing the sound of a truck's air brakes. It was such an unusual sound in the quiet neighborhood, especially at 5AM. He laid in bed, hoping that they could simply go back to sleep.

" Now, see here, Tyson, Contessa. There's no need to be afraid." he said soothingly, walking over to their dog beds which were in the corner of his bedroom. "You really need to calm down. Let's all look out the window and see what dragons be lurking."

Picking up both of the growling and agitated animals, one under each arm, Ducky carried them over to his window, overlooking the street. From his vantage point, all three watched as a man opened the driver's side door to the U-haul van across the street.

The man was in his late 30s with graying hair. He walked with a military stride to the back of the van and began unpacking. Ducky and his canine friends, who had thankfully calmed down, watched as the man began removing furniture and tools from the truck. He continued to watch as the young man struggled to remove a large bookcase all by himself.

"Well, I think we'll meet the new neighbor sooner rather than later."

Within twenty minutes, Ducky and his new neighbor finished moving all of the furniture into the house. Despite emptying the truck, the house was still almost bare, with just the essential.

"Will there be another truck?"

His neighbor was kneeling down, rubbing Tyson's belly. The other half of the Dynamic Duo was sound asleep on a very worn yet comfortable looking rug before the fireplace. "No, this is it. Thanks for helping me bring the couch in, Doctor."

"Not a problem, Jethro, and please, call me Ducky." Dr. Mallard said to his new neighbor.

Despite the sadness and gruff manner, Ducky instantly liked Jethro. He knew that animals were the best judge of character. According to Tyson and Contessa, Leroy Jethro Gibbs was a friend for life.

* * *

><p>"Freeze, McGee! Don't move."<p>

"What are you talking about?" Tony knew McGee was going to question him about freezing. It was a testament to how much Probie trusted him that he did, in fact, hold completely still.

Moving around the car with the two dead sailors, who were both missing their hands, Tony held McGee's arm steady. The key was still in the trunk and had been turned to unlock it.

"Car's wired to explode. Looks like the detonator's tied to the trunk."

"What?" McGee said in a panicked voice, looking ready to run away from the car as fast as he could.

Kate ran to the back of the car, "How far did you turn the key?"

"Uh, I'm not sure, almost all the way I think."

"Don't let it snap back, alright?" Tony motioned for McGee to let him take over. "Let go."

McGee took three full steps back once Tony had the key. If the situation was not so serious, Tony would have found that funny.

"Both of you, run!"

Looking at Tony in disbelief, Kate said "You can't be serious. We're not leaving you!"

McGee was standing by Tony's shoulder again, still in shock, staring at the innocuous looking trunk. The car was the crime scene.

"This bomb is primed. Get moving!"

McGee was about to bend down and look under the car, but Kate grabbed his arm, turning him back towards the hill. "What about you?"

"I'll be at the top of the hill before the two of you at this rate, Agent Todd."

"Right, c'mon McGee."

Tony watched as both agents ran up the hill, towards the road. From this angle, he could just make out the roof of the NCIS van as it pulled up to the broken guard rail. Ducky was here. He'd be the voice of reason when this bomb went off.

"Now or never, Dinozzo."

Tony, letting go of the key, finally pushed the trunk open. Several lights flashed over his face as the display on the bomb jumped from 10 minutes to _one_.

He was about to charge up the hill, hoping to dodge behind one of the trees on the slope to take the brunt of the blast when something caught his eye.

Sitting on top of the bomb, there was a picture. Two children sat on the sand. Both were smiling up at the camera. In the lower left corner of the picture was the inscription, _Remember the plan, Love Ari_.

"Undercover my ass" Tony mumbled. _35 seconds_

Ari was the terrorist who had shot Gerald and terrorized Ducky in his own autopsy. Tony, as the boss, had taken the attack at headquarters personally, hunted this monster down, only to be told that Ari was undercover. Considering the circumstance, the only possible intended targets of this bomb was NCIS.

_"_He's still targeting us." _12 seconds_

A small cough escaped him. His plague-filled lungs protesting the increased respiration. He knew with chilling certainty that those lungs were not ready to run up the hill.

Grabbing the photo, crushing it in his hands, he stuffed it inside his mouth and forced himself to swallow. There was no guarantee that it would survive the blast if he held it in his hands.

_Find it, Ducky, _he prayed.

_4 seconds._

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><p>"Oh, Anthony" Ducky said, brokenly. The burnt remains of his dear friend was a gruesome sight. Without a doubt, the worst part of his job was knowing the person on his autopsy table.<p>

Tony was so vibrant: full of movie quotes and practical jokes. Everyone at NCIS had been surprised when Tony was promoted to Team Lead after Stan became Agent Afloat. Slowly, he had built a team with first Kate, and then Timothy. Both agents blossomed under Tony's somewhat unorthodox tutelage.

Ducky turned as the door to autopsy opened. Jenny, the new director, was walking next to another woman that he did not recognize.

"And this is autopsy. Ducky, I'd like you ...to...meet. Oh, I'm sorry. Is that...?"

"Yes, Director." Ducky had only just met the new director and had been holding judgment, giving her a chance. As the youngest female director, he knew that she had already faced some intense challenges in order to get the job. He did not want to add to her stress.

And yet, Ducky had the growing suspicion that Director Shepherd was not serious about pursuing the terrorist that had shot Gerald and murdered Anthony. He had no proof, of course, but his gut was telling him that something was very wrong.

The woman standing next to Director Shepherd was starring at Tony's body in the strangest way. There was a tiny smirk on her face. Once she realized that Ducky was watching her, the smirk disappeared, just in time to show respectful remorse to the Director.

"I know this is a bad time, but I just wanted to introduce you to the new team lead, Ziva David."

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><p>If asked, Gibbs could not have said what woke him up. All he knew was that one second he was sound asleep and the next second, he was wide awake, startled by something. His heart was racing. Reaching under his pillow, Gibbs pulled out his colt. It was a gift from his father, before their argument about joining the military. Going from room to room, Gibbs checked the whole house, including the empty basement and garage. There was no one.<p>

Every window and door was still locked. Gibbs couldn't shake the feeling that someone was here, though. Walking back into his bedroom, he had to admit that it might have been his imagination since it was his first night in this house.

_Probably just the house settling_ he thought. Gibbs had no idea what noises were normal for this house.

The house came with his new job, his new life. Moving had been necessary, though. He couldn't live in that house with Shannon and Kelly's memory in every nook and cranny. Every turn of his head brought forth another moment of a life that no longer existed. There wasn't a trace of his girls in this house. It felt so empty. He felt so alone.

A strange noise came from the master bathroom. If Gibbs didn't know better, he would swear it sounded like a moan. He leaned against the wall next to the open doorway and carefully switched on the light in the bathroom. It was a small room, with nowhere to hide.

The light revealed...nothing. There was no one. It was only as he was turning to exit the room that he noticed something on the mirror.

Part of the mirror was foggy, as if someone had breathed on it. What worried Gibbs were the words, printed on the foggy surface:

**Get Out of**

Despite the fact that Gibbs had done a thorough search of the entire house, he could feel the hairs on the back of his neck standing up as the bottom half of the mirror suddenly fogged up and words were written before his eyes.

**My House!**


End file.
